


Floral arrangements for fugitives

by everythingremainsconnected



Series: Adventures in Fairytale Wendimoor [2]
Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: (a bit), Flower Crowns, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Wendimoor, magic flowers, mostly - Freeform, serious creative liberties taken with this fantasy land
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-31 02:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12666225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everythingremainsconnected/pseuds/everythingremainsconnected
Summary: Nothing in Wendimoor is what it seems, including something as simple as flowers, and somehow floral arrangements turn into a competition.





	Floral arrangements for fugitives

Driving and sometimes walking through the strange countryside that compressed spaces and time weirdly, as if the whole place treated reality like an optional and severely rumpled rug, the Rowdy Three wore their crowns. Gorgeously interwoven flower circlets rested atop each man’s head were worn with pride. Somehow the crowns stayed on during the most enthusiastic of brawls and fights and general rough and tumble of Rowdy life and had given the guys an appreciation for unusually hardy blooms.

Wendimoor provided them with ample flower admiring opportunities and Vogel was the first to see how much Amanda loved them. He watched her stare longingly at the lush array of colourful flowers, saw how she reached out to touch them whenever she could. Vogel felt her happiness when a particularly pretty shrub crossed her path, literally, but walking hedges were basically uninteresting after everything else they’d seen. He found a single stem with wavering purple petals that changed colour depending on the angle of the breeze, and immediately thought of Amanda. Vogel plucked the flower and hid it away, saving it until dark, holding out until Amanda fell asleep before placing the flower right by her. 

The next morning (technically - the sun was still some distance away) Vogel was up, waiting impatiently for Amanda to rise. Waiting for actual morning felt like forever but was almost certainly a lot shorter and eventually the sun’s golds and pinks streaked across the sky. Watching the light colour Amanda, Vogel sighed happily. Her skin turned rosy and her hair shone and she stretched in her sleep - toward the flower. 

When Amanda finally woke up Vogel could barely keep still but forced himself to stay put and not ruin the surprise. Amanda looked around with a yawn and after an eternity she noticed the flower. A gorgeous look of pleased surprise spread across her face when she picked it up, and morphed into proper delight when Vogel bounded over and huffed a lungful of air onto the petals to make them change colour. 

“Vogel, it’s - oh my god, look!” Amanda delicately blew a breeze across some petals but not others and grinned at the shimmering changes. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you.” She pressed a kiss to his smiling mouth and laughed when he pulled away in a fit of giggles. 

Cross, Gripps and Martin watched on with steadily growing jealousy, and so the Flower Games began. 

Covertly trying to find flowers during the day became fierce competition and was made even worse by trying to keep it a secret from Amanda. There were excuses to stop the van, wander off, wander back incredibly suspiciously, and then have even more suspicious whispered arguments that turned into brief hushed brawls in the backseat. 

Amanda was absolutely not blind to the mysterious shenanigans but didn’t want to ruin their fun. She hadn’t seen the guys so _light_ in a really long time and whatever it was that was making them run and play and goof like the gorgeous souls she’d known and loved, she wasn’t about to stop it for anything. Amanda fell asleep to the delightful sounds of bickering whispers and the occasional muffled thump. They were the sounds of home and family. 

Waking up surrounded by flowers like some kind of sacrificial offering to a particularly woodsy deity did not quite appeal; the tendency for Wendimoor to be pretty literal and way too magical for Amanda’s liking was cause for serious concern. She sat up and tried to appear less tantalizing to any passing spirits. Taking in the arrangement around her, Amanda’s eyes widened; it was as if she had used the most obnoxious floral bath bomb in the history of aesthetic-based hygiene routines without bothering with the water component. Clashing scents positively filled the air in a very physical punch-to-the-face kind of way. 

Looking at her family Amanda couldn’t help but smile. Like proud puppies bringing a chewed shoe for attention and admiration, the four of them sat at rapt attention, waiting for Amanda’s approval. She grinned and ran her fingers across stems and petals and leaves and blossoms. There were dozens of colours and some felt like freezing ice while others were warm like a cup of coffee. 

Vogel shoved a hand-made bouquet of flowers into Amanda’s face. He blew air across them and the rainbow that shimmered across the bunch was nothing less than magical. How he’d found so many and in so many colours, Amanda couldn’t guess, but the effect was mesmerising. Vogel grinned, proud as anything that he’d made Amanda smile. 

“Manda, look!” Cross picked up a fistful of flowers and squeezed them. They promptly sparked like fireworks and Amanda laughed. She watched as coloured lights flew through the air from Cross’s big hands and sighed in wonder. 

Gripps pushed Cross aside to show off his own find. Brushing two different petals together made a small puff of colour that stained his fingers blue. He collected another few and pressed them in his hands to make clouds of pink appear. With the powder’s residue on his thumb, Gripps rubbed small circles of colour onto Amanda’s cheeks and made her grin. 

Martin waited til last, making sure his was going to be the best. He sat cross-legged before Amanda and gave a rare half-smile when her attention turned to him. With careful hands Martin collected up his offering, crushing petals and flower heads before slowly letting them fall between his fingers to the ground. As the pieces of flowers fell Amanda was aware of music, soft and gentle, and she stared in wonder. 

“Is that - the flowers?” Amanda asked. 

With a nod, Martin repeated the movements, making the petals sing on the air as they drifted back to the earth. “I miss music.” He said eventually. 

Amanda’s eyes shone. “Me too.” 

“I know. This is as close as I could find til we get outta here.” Martin looked at Amanda closely and tasted her wonder on the air. “You want to try?” 

“Yeah?” 

Martin tried to remember how to be near her. That place had made him more monster than man and coming back to her was hard. He wanted to, wanted that easy affection that had been before, and thought he’d die if he couldn’t ever have that again. 

The latest fistful of music dripped between his fingers and Martin squared his shoulders and stretched his legs out. “I can show you. C’mere.” 

The implication wasn’t lost on Amanda. With a cautious smile she sat right in front of Martin, leaning back into his torso and sighing with relief when his long arms reached around her for the flowers on the ground. It was the longest he'd held her since the escape and warmth filled Amanda as she settled into him. 

“Like this.” Very carefully Martin crumpled the petals in his fingers and dusted them back to the earth. The tinkling sound was like tiny bells or maybe very small violins; either way it soothed his soul almost as much as having Amanda in his arms again. 

Gathering up another handful Martin placed them into Amanda’s open palms. He tucked his chin on her shoulder as he closed his hands over hers, breaking the petals to release the sound, closing his eyes as the remnants fell. Breathing in Amanda’s joy, and the many, many scents of flowers, and the love of his family together again, Martin began to feel whole. 

Amanda turned her head to press her cheek against his and pulled his arms around her. “I missed you so much.” 

“I missed you more, drummer girl,” Martin whispered. He let out a long breath and held her close, smiling as Amanda shifted enough in his arms to kiss him properly. Happiness bloomed like a thousand magic flowers all around them. 

Resting her forehead against his, Amanda grinned. “Welcome home.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm mentally preparing for the inevitable angst ahead by writing fluff because we all need a hug at this point. [I'm on Tumblr](https://everythingremainsconnected.tumblr.com/), come visit!


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